The Council of Korean Churches in Southern California and the Council of Korean Churches in Orange County raised $5,600 together to present scholarships to the leaders of the next generation.
89 students were able to receive scholarships again this year through the support of the Korean American churches in southern California. Since last year, the Council of Korean Churches in Southern California and the Council of Korean Churches in Orange County have fundraised and presented scholarships together. This year, the two councils raised $56,500, and gave the entire portion to scholarship awardees. The two councils and the Nachimban Church divided the costs for the scholarship award ceremony, estimated to be about $2,200, and the food, which costed about $2,000.
The scholarship program was started with the purpose of discovering the leaders of the next generation. The program followed specific structures and guidelines, such as prioritizing students with outstanding grades, low-income, or those from church plants or churches that lack resources to be self-reliant. 10% of the scholarship fund was also set aside for non-Korean awardees. This year, 39 high school students and 50 college students received scholarships.
Of those who were awarded scholarships this year, six Assyrian Christians were also included, and members of the Assyrian Christian community shared a short message about the persecution that Assyrian Christians are currently facing in Iraq.
Da-Yi Chung, one of those who received a scholarship, said, "In the world that we live in, studies are considered very important. However, what's more important than studies is to live according to the word of God, and giving Him our best in the work that He has entrusted to us. I think that's what's pleasing to Him."
"Thank you for giving me this precious scholarship," she added.
"Go out into the world with the strong faith that David had when he defeated Goliath," said Hyo Woo Park, the president of the Council of Korean Churches in Southern California, encouraging the students.
"We consider this small scholarship to have been our way of sharing our love to you," Kyung-Yup Min, the president of the Council of Korean Churches in Orange County, said. "We hope that you'll continue to share this love with the rest of the world," he added.
This article was updated on October 2, 2014 at 2:15 PM to correct an error in the total amount that was stated as given for scholarships. Previously, it was stated that $5,600 were given, and that has been corrected to $56,500. The error was made not by the reporter, but the translator, Rachael Lee. The original article in Korean can be found at kr.christianitydaily.com.
